Methods for injecting a curable biomaterial into an intervertebral space
First Claim
1. A method for treating a diseased or damaged intervertebral spinal disc having an inner nucleus pulposus and an outer annulus, comprising the steps of:
- providing access to the nucleus pulposus through the annulus;
removing at least a portion of said nucleus pulposus to create an intradiscal space;
determining the integrity of said annulus by sealably injecting a fluid under pressure directly into the intradiscal space; and
thensealably introducing under pressure a curable biomaterial, different from said fluid under pressure, through said annulus access directly into said intradiscal space.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for treating a diseased or damaged spinal disc having an inner nucleus pulposus and an outer annulus is provided comprises the steps of: providing access to the nucleus pulposus through the annulus; removing at least a portion of the nucleus pulposus to create an intradiscal space; determining the integrity of the annulus; and then sealably introducing under pressure a curable biomaterial through the annulus access directly into the intradiscal space. The step of determining the integrity of the annulus may be accomplished by introducing into the disc a fluid solution under a first pressure. The curable biomaterial may subsequently be introduced through the annulus directly into said intradiscal space at a second pressure that is increased or decreased from the first pressure as a function of the viscosity of the biomaterial relative to the fluid solution. In certain embodiments, a distraction force is applied to the disc space.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for treating a diseased or damaged intervertebral spinal disc having an inner nucleus pulposus and an outer annulus, comprising the steps of:
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providing access to the nucleus pulposus through the annulus; removing at least a portion of said nucleus pulposus to create an intradiscal space; determining the integrity of said annulus by sealably injecting a fluid under pressure directly into the intradiscal space; and
thensealably introducing under pressure a curable biomaterial, different from said fluid under pressure, through said annulus access directly into said intradiscal space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for treating a diseased or damaged intervertebral spinal disc having an inner nucleus pulposus and an outer annulus, comprising the steps of:
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providing access to the nucleus pulposus through the annulus; removing at least a portion of said nucleus pulposus to create an intradiscal space; sealably introducing into said disc through said opening a fluid solution under a first pressure to determine the integrity of said annulus; and
thensealably introducing under a second pressure, different from said first pressure, a curable biomaterial, different from said fluid solution, through said annulus directly into said intradiscal space. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification